Fiji Sun

A year’s worth of rain plunges normally dry Dubai underwater

Storm dumps heaviest rain ever recorded in desert nation of UAE, flooding roads and Dubai’s airport.

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Dubai: Heavy thundersto­rms lashed the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday, dumping the heaviest rain ever recorded in the country in the span of hours as it flooded out portions of major highways and Dubai’s internatio­nal airport. The state-run WAM news agency called the rain “a historic weather event” that surpassed “anything documented since the start of data collection in 1949.” That’s before the discovery of crude oil in this energy-rich nation then part of a British protectora­te known as the Trucial States.

The rains began on late Monday, soaking the sands and roadways of Dubai with some 20 millimeter­s (0.79 inches) of rain, according to meteorolog­ical data collected at Dubai Internatio­nal Airport.

The storms intensifie­d around 9am on Tuesday and continued throughout the day, dumping more rain and hail onto the overwhelme­d city.

By the end of Tuesday, more than 142 millimeter­s (5.59 inches) of rainfall had soaked Dubai over 24 hours.

An average year sees 94.7 millimeter­s (3.73 inches) of rain at Dubai Internatio­nal Airport, the world’s busiest for internatio­nal travel and a hub for the long-haul carrier Emirates.

At the airport, standing water lapped on taxiways as aircraft landed.

The airport ended up halting arrivals Tuesday night and passengers struggled to reach terminals through the floodwater covering surroundin­g roads.

One couple, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to speak freely in a country with strict laws that criminaliz­e critical speech, called the situation at the airport “absolute carnage.”

“You cannot get a taxi. There’s people sleeping in the Metro station. There’s people sleeping in the airport,” the man said on Wednesday.

They ended up getting a taxi to near their home some 30 kilometers (18 miles) away, but floodwater on the road stopped them. A bystander helped them over a highway barrier with their carryon luggage, the bottles of gin they picked up from duty free clinking away.

Dubai Internatio­nal Airport acknowledg­ed on Wednesday morning that the flooding had left “limited transporta­tion options” and affected flights as aircraft crews couldn’t reach the airfield. “Recovery will take some time,” the airport said on the social platform X.

“We thank you for your patience and understand­ing while we work through these challenges.”

 ?? Photo: AP ?? Vehicles sit abandoned in floodwater covering a major road in Dubai United Arab Emirates on April 17, 2024.
Photo: AP Vehicles sit abandoned in floodwater covering a major road in Dubai United Arab Emirates on April 17, 2024.

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